Fountain comb or liquid applicator



Oct. 21, 1941. F. c. csR'u-'r--l'rl-i 2,259,931

FOUNTAIN COMB OR LIQUID APPLICATOR Filed March 17, 1941 A fro/@NE V6.

Patented Oct. 21, 1941 UNITED YSTATES PATENT OFFICE FOUNTAIN MB OR.LIQUXD APPLICATOR Frederick C. Grifth, Buialo,-N.-Y.

. Application March 17, 194.1, vSerial Nil-383,712.2

7 Claims.

This invention relates to improvements in fountain combs or devices,used for treatingv the hair or scalp with oil, tonic or other liquids,which comprise a container for the liquid, and teeth adapted to be movedthrough the hair and provided with discharge ducts for delivering theliquid on the scalp or at the roots of the hair.

A principal object. of the invention is to provide an improved fountaincomb or applicator of this character which is of novel` construction,whereby the scalp or the. roots of the hair can be efficiently treatedand the delivery of theliquid theretonicely regulated as desired, and:clogging or stopping of the discharge orices of the teeth prevented.

Other. objects of the invention are to make` the device of a novelconstruction which adapts it to beused for massaging and'treating the.scalp without irritation and without clogging the liquid deliveryorifices of the teeth with dandrui orother matter; in which the outeryends of the teeth and of their discharge passages are. covered byprotecting caps provided with smooth,

imperforate, outer ends adaptingvthemfor use' in massaging the scalpwithout irritation; in which the several teeth are. provided on a singletooth block or piece which is removably secured to the liquid receptacleor comb'body so .as to adapt all of the.Y teeth with, their dischargevcony trolling valves ,to be readily attached andremoved as a unit,thereby facilitating the yassembly of the device and the quick easycleaning of the liquid delivery ducts or orifices and other partsof thedevice.

Further objects and advantages ofthe invention will appear from thefollowing specification of the preferred embodiment thereof,kshown inthe accompanying drawing, and the novel features of the invention areset forth in thev appended claims.

In said drawing:

Fig. 1 is a side elevation, partly iny section, showing in approximatelyactual size, a fountain comb or applicator yembodying my invention.

Fig. 2 is an enlarged, transverse section thereof on line 2 2, Fig. 1.

Fig. l3 is ,aseotion of one tooth and itsA capon a still larger scale. s

Fig. 4 is a transverse section thereof on vline .1 -4, Fig. 3.

Fig. 5 is a side elevation of the tooth block and teeth detached.

Fig. 6 is a sectional View of the air vent for the' liquid receptacle.

Tbecomb `comprises a hollow body l0 lwhich155 provides a. receptacle forthe oil, tonic or other liquidandteethill which project from one side of.the Abody .andareprovided withducts orpassages vcommtuicating with the.receptacle for de- .liverillgthe Yliquid from .the receptacle throughthe;teeth. 1`freferably the. body l0 is. in the. form of va shape..adapting the comb to be comfortably heldin the. hand whilemanipulatingor .using it. As shown,..the handle1 is of tubularform andthe-receptacle-.body l0 is secured thereto by. inserting one endpofthebody tubewith a tightflt inthe cavity of1 the handle. A circumferentialcol1ar.| 3,. which/is shown on the body IU, fits tightly against the endof the 'handle to prevent .any liquidwhich might be present on theexterior of the body from entering, .the cavity of the handle. Thebodyreceptacle l0..shown, hasa filling opening at its outerend, closed byascrew plug l4, and the inner end vof the receptacle is also shown vasclosed by ascrew plugv or; cap. l5.

The teeth Il, which ,are tubular or have longitudinal passages orductsI6. therein, arejoined to and vpreferably;made integral with a tooth.block Il, Awhich isremova-bly secured tothe. body Yits inner side withvtubular nipples 22, one in alinement 4ivithreach tooth, which areadapted to t snugly in sockets'formed in the boss I9. Yieldingwashersv23- may also be usedbetween the ends of the nipples 22 and theinner ends of the nipple sockets, if necessary, .to further insureagainst Aleakage of liquid from the receptacle Vonto the outer surfacesof the comb. Holes 25 .through the boss I9 or side of the receptacleestablish communication between the interior thereof and the dischargeducts of the several teeth. The gasketll extends around all of the.tooth and theouter endof the longitudinal duct .thereof. `Thiscap`preferably surrounds .and is 2 f l 'n 2,259,931

slidable in and out on the outer 'nd of the tooth and is provided with asmooth and preferably rounded or semi-spherical, imperforate, outer endadapted to contact with and be moved against the scalp withoutirritating it. Each cap 5 may be screwed or otherwise suitably securedto the outer end of a stem 21 which extends into the passage l5 of thetooth and is formed with or connected to a valve 28 adapted to cooperatewith a seat 29 in the tooth passage for control- 10 ling the dischargeof liquid from vthe tooth. Preferably the valve and seat are of conicalshape, and the valve is normally held closed or against the seat toprevent the discharge of liquid, by a coil spring 30 arranged in thetooth 15 pressing the cap 26 inwardly, as by gently press'- 20 Ying thecap against the scalp. The construction and mounting of the cap is suchthat it provides anV escape opening or orifice for the discharge of theliquid from the tooth, which opening is spaced back or upwardly from theouter end of '25 the cap so as to prevent the same from becoming cloggedor stopped with dandrulf or foreign matter which may accumulate on theend of the cap in the use of the comb. For instance, the cap is providedwith discharge orifices 3l in its side 30 walls at a substantialdistance back or upwardly from the end of the cap. When the cap ispressed inwardly and the valve is thus unseated or opened, the liquidcan discharge from the tooth through the discharge orices of the cap-TAs shown, the length of the several teeth varies so that the outer endsof the caps inv their normal positions are disposed on an arc conformingto the contour of the scalp. Thus, the several teeth will normallycontact-simultaneously with 40 the scalp in the use of the comb.

By the provision of the caps with the smooth or rounded, imperforateouter ends, they can be moved backand forth in contact with the scalp inthe use of the comb so as to gently massage '5 the scalp withoutirritating it, and they prevent dandruff or other foreign matter fromgetting into and clogging or stopping the discharge ducts or orices ofthe teeth so as to interfere with the proper delivery of the liquid tothe scalp or roots;

of the hair. Therefore, the treating liquid can be delivered, and itsdelivery controlled as desired, to the root ends of the hair or to thescalp only, without greasing or wetting the hair above its root endportions, and the comb can be used' 55 to gently massage the scalpwithout danger of clogging the discharge orifices of the teeth orinjuring the scalp. By making the teeth integral with the tooth block l1as shown, the latter and all of the teeth can be conveniently die-castin 50 a single piece, and the whole group of teeth together with thevalves and caps carried thereby can be removed by simply unscrewing thetwo screws. This makes it possible to very quickly and easily clean theparts and prevent themv,

from becoming clogged, fouled or gummed u with accumulating matter.

In order to enablethe use in the comb of oils or liquids which may betoo heavy or thick to flow readily at normal temperatures, the device,`

as heretofore known, may be provided with an electric heating element 32which, as shown, extends into the liquid receptacle through the plug I5Vat the inner end of the receptacle. y This heat- .ing element may be ofany known or any suit- '75 able construction and may be supplied withelectric current by conductors 33 and 34, under the control of asuitable switch 35, which enables the operation of the heating elementto heat the liquid as may be required. The liquid receptacle is alsoshown as provided with an air vent device 36 for admitting air to thereceptacle when this is necessary, to insure proper delivery of theliquid from the teeth. In using the device with some liquida-a specialair vent is not necessary and may not be desirable, while, with otherliquids, it may be. The vent is therefore prefer-- ably constructed sothat it can be opened or closed as required. The vent shown consists ofa plug 3l screwed into a hole in the top or back of the liquidreceptacle and equipped with a rotatable cap 38 having a hole 39 in oneside of the cap adapted, by rotation of the cap, to be placed into orout of registration with an air passage 40 extending through the plug.

I claim as my invention:

1. In a fountain comb comprising a body forming a liquid receptacle, anda tooth projecting therefrom and having a liquid discharge passagecommunicating with the receptacle, a cap movably mounted on and coveringthe outer end of the tooth and having a smooth imperforate outer endadapted to contact the scalp and providing an escape opening spaced backfrom the outer end of the cap forthe discharge of the liquid, and meansactuated by said cap for controlling the discharge of liquid from thetooth.

2. In a fountain comb comprising a body forming a liquid receptacle, atooth projecting therefrom and having a longitudinal liquid dischargepassage communicating with the receptacle, and a valve controlling theflow of liquid from the receptacle through said tooth, a cap slidable onand covering the outer end of the tooth and having a smooth imperforateouter end adapted to contact with the scalp, and providing an escapeopening spaced back from the outer end of the cap for the discharge ofthe liquid, and means actuated by pressure on said cap for opening saiddischarge valve.

3. In a fountain comb comprising a body forming a liquid receptacle, atooth projecting therefrom and having a liquid discharge passageextending lengthwise through the tooth and communicating withthereceptacle, and a valve controlling the ow of liquid through saidpassage, a cap slidable on the tooth and covering the outer end of saidpassage and having a smooth imperforate outer end adapted to contactwith the scalp, said cap having an escape opening in its side back fromthe end of the -cap for the discharge ofthe liquid, and a stem extendingfrom said cap through said passage for opening said valve by pressure onsaid cap. Y A

4. In a fountain comb comprising aY slender tubular body forming aliquid receptacle, teeth projecting from one side thereof and havingliquid discharge passages extending longitudinally therein andcommunicating with the'receptacle, and a valve Vcontrolling discharge'ofthe liquid from each tooth, a cap movably mounted-on and covering theouter end of each tooth and having a smooth imperforate outer endadaptedfor contact with the scalp, and a stem extending Vfrom saidcap in saidtooth passage for opening the valve by pressure on the cap, .said'capproviding a discharge opening for the liquid spaced back from the outerend of the cap. .Y 5. A fountain comb comprising a tubular body forminga liquidreceptacle and provided with a longitudinal boss along one sidehaving a continuous outer face, a tooth block having a continuous facefor connection with said outer face of the boss and having a pluralityof hollow teeth integral with and projecting from the outer side of theblock, the cavities of the teeth communicating with said receptacle andhaving valve seats therein, valves arranged in said teeth with springsto close the valves against said seats, and caps slidable on andcovering the outer ends of the teeth, stems connecting said caps to saidvalves to open the valves by movement of the caps, said caps providingescape openings back from the ends of the caps for the discharge of theliquid, and means removably securing said tooth block to said bodya-gainst said outer face thereof and enabling removal and attachment ofthe block with the several teeth and valves as a unit from and to saidbody.

6. In a fountain -comb comprising a body forming a liquid receptacle,and a tooth projecting therefrom and having a liquid discharge passagecommunicating with the receptacle, a cap movably mounted on and coveringthe outer end of the tooth and having a smooth imperforate outer endadapted to contact the scalp and providing an escape opening spaced backfrom the outer end of the cap for the discharge of the liquid, and meansfor controlling the discharge of liquid from the tooth.

7. In a fountain comb comprising a body forming a liquid receptacle, atooth projecting therefrom and having a discharge passage extendinglongitudinally through the tooth and communicating with the receptacle,and a valve for controlling the discharge of the liquid from the tooth,a stem connected to said valve and extending outwardly therefrom in saidpassage, and a cap secured to said stem and covering the outer end ofsaid tooth passage, said cap having a smooth imperforate outer endadapted for contact with the scalp and providing an escape openingspaced back from the outer end of the cap for the discharge of theliquid.

FREDERICK C. GRIFFITH.

